The Five Types of Porn Addicts

A few years ago, I had no idea that there were “types” of porn addicts. Now, after coaching multiple men and increasing my knowledge on the science of addiction and the murky area of porn addiction in particular, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are five main types of porn addicts.

This is crucial information, because if I had know about all of this almost a decade ago, I would have saved myself so much time and effort when it came to overcoming my porn addiction.

“Am I really a porn addict?”

“Do I just have a bad habit?”

“Why can’t I ever stay away from porn?”

“Why do I feel so much guilt and shame after masturbating to porn?”

You no longer have to spend years asking yourself those questions and trying to figure out what exactly has been holding you back.

Bear in mind that these categories are by no means the final word on the types of addicts- this is simply based on my experience with thousands of men who visit the site and my private coaching clients.

1) Psychological Porn Addict:

Many men who are addicted to pornography have been victims of some form of neglect, abuse or abandonment- usually at an early age.

When you are young and experience any of the above, you don’t have many coping skills to deal with the pain inflicted on you. As a result, you find yourself using pornography as a way of medicating your hurt- a balm on the wounds of your soul, so to speak.

2) Biological Porn Addict:

It is now common knowledge that there is a biological component to pornography addiction. Multiple, neural pathways in our brains are hardwired for pleasure- the pleasure we receive from repeatedly watching pornography. This reinforcement causes us to get addicted to porn.

If you have a problem quitting porn, there is a chance that you are affected by the biological aspect of porn addiction. However, you will not find a solution to your porn problem if you assume that you are affected by only the biological aspect.

Why would you assume this? Well, most biological porn addicts do not have a history of abuse, neglect or abandonment. You may have grown up in a loving and emotionally healthy home.

You simply engaged consistently in a bad habit which had negative chemical consequences for you.

3) Trauma Influenced Porn Addict:

As the name implies, the trauma influenced addict has a history of trauma (usually sexual) as a child. This trauma has become one of the main sources of your addiction and your choices in pornography may reflect your history, or even reenact the traumatic experience(s).

This is a situation that requires digging deep to find out the root of your sexual trauma- or even if you have a history. Many of us are quick to dispel the notion that we may have experienced sexual trauma, but I wouldn’t recommend being too quick to rule it out. As children, when we are faced with trauma and not equipped with enough coping skills, we have a tendency to repress many of our memories.

If you think that past sexual trauma may have had an effect on your fondness for porn, its important to do some trauma work which will help you heal.

4) Depression Based Porn Addict:

Many of my clients have a history of depression- particularly in their teens or early twenties. Sometimes this is the result of chemical imbalances in the brain, or various disorders which lead to depression. In any case, you may have found that orgasm was one of the ways to medicate your depression. You began to use it on a consistent basis and quite naturally, like anything done in excess, you became addicted and began to experience its negative effects.

If you fall into this category, The 24 week Quit Porn Course is an in depth course which provides you with over 30 exercises which are designed deal with the root cause of your depression especially when if you used or still use porn, sex , masturbation and orgasms to medicate it.

5) Intimacy Influenced Porn Addict:

Till today, I still get asked why the site is called “QuitPornGetGirls”. It has always been by firm belief- even when no one else in the recovery industry believed it that many of the problems facing porn addicts today stem from relationship issues with the opposite sex.

Many young men today have serious problems when trying to have sex with women and they are becoming “men” in a society where relationships are becoming increasingly dysfunctional. When they do end up in relationships, the way they react to problems can be unhealthy.

So how do you determine that that you have intimacy problems that influence your addiction? One of the first symptoms is the characteristic of ALWAYS sabotaging your recovery. If you find yourself staying away from porn for several days, weeks or even months successfully, the suddenly binging- and repeating this pattern consistently, you may be an Intimacy Influenced Porn Addict.

In addition to that, if you have more than 4 of the following tendencies listed below, you may be an Intimacy Influenced Porn Addict:

1) Difficulties sharing your feelings

2) Putting the blame for issues on others- especially on your significant other

3) Keeping at work/ stay back late/ stay occupied to avoid spending time with your partner

4) Constant criticism

5) Refusing to have sex as a gesture of control

6) Refusing to show appreciation or praise to others when its due

7) Using silence to control others or your partner

8) Shame about social status, financial status or physical appearance

Chris, can I be multiple types of addicts?

Yes, you can. You may find that you experience several of the traits listed above. Understanding the type of porn addict you are is almost MAGICAL. What I mean is that it instantly allows you to focus on recovery actions that will be effective and bring about change in the quickest time possible.

Imagine finally figuring out why you’ve been having so many problems quitting porn and finding out EXACTLY what you need to do in order to quit.